“Legislative Reconciliation is Governments using legislative powers for good and not bad. The Indian Act, you might say, was the government using its powers for bad, for a very long time.” -Prof. Metallic Professor Naiomi Metallic, divides her time between practice and teaching at Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law where she holds the Chancellor’s Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy. She was part of the legal team that intervened on behalf of the First Nations Child and Family Caring S...
Jul 25, 2024•56 min•Ep. 101
For over 157 years, the Canadian federation has derived its legitimacy from a written constitution made up of 31 documents, the majority of which have no legal force in the French language, among them the foundational Constitution Act of 1867, formerly referred to as the British North America Act. While the Constitution Act of 1982 was written and adopted in both official languages, the remaining 71% of the documents, though translated, have yet to be promulgated. 42 years and counting. How did ...
Jul 11, 2024•53 min•Ep. 100
What is it like to fly in, perhaps even get briefly stranded, and then fly back out, all the while sharing some very close quarters with both the judge and opposing counsel? Very collegial. Julia welcomes an ad hoc panel of pan northern practitioners and active CBA members to The Every Lawyer: Leeland Hawkings was born and raised in Whitehorse, where he now works as legal counsel with the Yukon government; he is also the current vice president of the Yukon branch of the CBA. Paulina Ross left he...
Jun 20, 2024•48 min•Ep. 99
Overarching themes: lawyers can benefit from multi-disciplinary approaches in various ways, clients seriously benefit from holistic approaches, and that combining these two approaches is really making headway on improving access to justice for vulnerable communities. Hosted by Julia Tétrault-Provencher and featuring: Emily Murray Luke’s Place, legal office with social and health support workers on site, specialised on the needs of survivors of intimate partner violence. People centered approach....
May 16, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 98
There are many reasons for lawyers and litigators to consider mediation as a career move. And there are born mediators who may not have a professional legal background at all. Our goal in this episode is twofold: to make the case for mediation as a viable alternative to our over-burdened court system and to explore the role mediation plays in peace-, community-, and capacity- building on both the local and global scale. Pro-tip for seasoned professionals: mediation can also provide some relief f...
Apr 18, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 97
Julia welcomes two of Canada’s top experts on EDI in the legal workplace: McCarthy-Tetrault’s current and former Chief Inclusion Officers, Charlene Theodore and Nikki Gershbain. Before moving to McCarthy-Tetrault, Charlene Thedore worked as in-house council in the education sector and, in 2020, she was the first black person to become President of the OBA. Charlene has also worked for the UN committee on the elimination of racial discrimination and is a member and former director of the Canadian...
Mar 21, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 96
Trail-blazing penny droppers. Julia welcomes two iconic figures from within the CBA and the legal profession: barbara findlay KC and Douglas Elliott. Gay lawyers from when there were no gay lawyers. They co-founded SOGIC, now SAGDA, and are partly responsible for many of the rights the 2SLGBTQIA+ community has achieved over the last forty years. To quote barbara: "what was gained in a generation could easily be lost in a generation". And Douglas wrote: "we are experiencing a terrible backlash ri...
Feb 29, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 95
Criminal defense attorneys Tony Paisana and Tyler Schnare from the CBA Criminal Justice Section geek out with Julia about the recently updated CBA Collateral Consequences Toolkit. For clients, it presents a comprehensive overview in fairly plain language about the fall-out of a criminal conviction. For lawyers, to quote Tony, "there are serious consequences to not advising of the consequences...". This updated resource aims to help lawyers, clients, and judges gain a better understanding of the ...
Jan 18, 2024•48 min•Ep. 94
A discussion about what is actually behind the words, equity, diversity and inclusion. Our final episode with original CBA Task Force on Gender Equality members, Justice Sophie Bourque, Patricia Blocksom, Daphne Dumont and principal author Melina Buckley and a diverse cross-section of women lawyers working in the profession today on how much progress has been made on gender equality since 1993. And the next thirty years? “When will the profession get to a place where we can look back and say, we...
Nov 30, 2023•56 min•Ep. 93
How the Bertha Wilson Task Force took an intersectional approach to their work on gender equality at a time when the phrase intersectionality was still an obscure legal term that had only recently been coined. This Episode begins with a compilation of lived experiences of junior, senior, and anywhere in-between, women lawyers from all walks of life and from all across Canada. Interviews by Rebecca Brown and Julia Tétrault-Provencher.
Nov 23, 2023•55 min•Ep. 92
To quote Patricia Blocksom: “Equality is a robust concept but a fragile reality.” Fortunately lawyers are good at remaining constantly vigilant and feminism is nothing to be afraid of, quite the opposite: by the end of this our second episode on the Touchstones Report, you will be very grateful you have chosen to let these wonderful women, these wonderful feminists, into your life for a while. Thanks for listening, reach out to us anytime at podcasts@cba.org! Touchstones Report Executive Summary...
Nov 09, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 91
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the release of the CBA report, Touchstones for Change, Equality, Diversity and Accountability, we listen in on a kitchen table discussion between 3 of the original task force members, Daphne Dumont, Patricia Blocksom, and Sophie Bourque, and the lead author of the report, Melina Buckley. We get the historical context, where the original authors were, and what the world was like thirty years ago when they began their work on the Touchstones Report, or as...
Nov 02, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 90
Excerpts from our CBA Podcasts cross channel series on Mental Health in the Legal Profession. With Glen Hickerson from the CBA well-being subcommittee, former Chief Justice of Ontario George Strathy, Sania Chaudhry, Yves Faguy, editor of the CBA National Magazine, Jason Ward, former CBA President, Stephen Rothstein, the Hon. Justice Mahmud Jamal, the Hon. Justice Michele Hollins of King's Bench Alberta, and the author of the Report on the Psychological Health Determinants of Legal Professionals ...
Oct 19, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 89
In anticipation of our forthcoming mini-series marking the 30th anniversary of the Touchstones Report, celebrating what has been achieved in the last three decades while remaining vigilant and tenacious in the pursuit of true equity, diversity, and inclusion in the legal profession, here is Julia's complete conversation with OBA President Kelly McDermott. Both as senior in-house counsel who leads labour negotiations and litigation at the Regional Municipality of Durham and as a single mom with a...
Oct 13, 2023•51 min•Ep. 88
Safeguarding the rule of law and the legal profession. Julia Tetrault-Provencher welcomes John Stefaniuk K.C. The CBA President speaks about growing up in Manitoba, the war in Ukraine, his long association with the CBA, and its role in safeguarding the rule of law both at home and abroad. Their discussion also touches on the role the CBA can, and does, play in promoting and improving inclusion in the legal profession and the responsibility to give back that comes with privilege.
Sep 28, 2023•41 min•Ep. 87
The Violence Link in Practice *Content warning: This episode discusses serious and potentially triggering subjects, including family violence and animal abuse, as well as the recounting of real-life events. A new Report prepared for Humane Canada with funding from the Department of Justice Canada, The Violence Link in Practice is an empirical analysis of the implications of the Violence Link for Family Justice Professionals. But what exactly is the Violence Link? Broadly, it describes the inters...
Sep 21, 2023•45 min•Ep. 86
SAGDA - The Sexual and Gender Diversity Alliance, formerly known as SOGIC. We learn a bit about the history of SOGIC: (spoiler alert, it started out as a very well protected email list) and a bit about the everyday business of SAGDA: (spoiler alert: you will be encouraged to join!). From being a good ally to mentorship to opportunity, this episode also features a frank discussion on pride and the need to remain vigilant given a backdrop of rising hate. Julia welcomes lawyers Chris Ellis and Hoss...
Sep 07, 2023•56 min•Ep. 85
Legal coaching as a practical approach to Canada’s Access to Justice Crisis. Marcus Sixta is the founder of Crossroads Law, a well-established firm specializing in family law with offices in Calgary and Vancouver and a 2023 excellence awardee for Canadian family law firm of the year, and more recently, he founded Coach My Case, which offers legal coaching services to self-represented litigants – we will be talking a lot about this in this podcast. A former social worker, Marcus is a certified co...
Jun 22, 2023•56 min•Ep. 84
In this episode of the Every Lawyer we discuss restricting the use of NDAs in Canada’s legal system. Joining Julia for this timely discussion are: Jo-Anne Stark is a lawyer and Certified Legal Coach and operates Stark Solutions Legal Coaching and Consulting which offers virtual help to self-represented litigants and training to lawyers who want to offer legal coaching to their own clients; she is the volunteer President of Legal Coaches Association, a non-profit she founded in 2019 to increase a...
Jun 01, 2023•50 min•Ep. 83
The CBA as a pathway to a career in politics? Absolutely. With applications to join a CBA national section executive closing at the end of this month, Julia welcomes two long-time CBA-ers, Jordan Brown and Tom Ullyett, who have pursued careers in politics. Tom served as Deputy Minister in the Yukon to six ministers from two political parties over the course of thirty years. Jordan held political office in his home province of Prince Edward Island from 2015 to 2019, serving as Minister of Educati...
May 25, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 82
The Path - Your Journey Through Indigenous Canada. Module 6: Indigenous Peoples in the Criminal Legal System. Jennifer David is a senior consultant and leads an area of service called Truth and Reconciliation at NVision Insight Group, a majority Indigenous-owned company with First Nations, Inuit, Metis and non-Indigenous shareholders and staff. From Omushkego, Jennifer is a member of Chapleau Cree First Nation and has a journalism degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, where she currently li...
Mar 23, 2023•58 min•Ep. 81
Case law on the Every Lawyer. Julia welcomes Tory Hibbitt, past chair of the CBA's Health Law Section and Dr. Vanessa Cardy MD, to discuss Garde Préventive and recent changes to Alberta's Mental Health Act.
Mar 16, 2023•35 min•Ep. 80
Julia welcomes Sania Chaudhry, an employment and human rights lawyer and winner of Alberta’s Top 30 under 30 award for professional excellence in 2022, to discuss mental health in the legal profession. Sania is active with the Alberta Branch of the CBA, as well the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, and the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association. Julia talks to her about bouncing back from burn-out, going from litigation in private practice to a regulator and back again, learning to cope with mi...
Jan 26, 2023•53 min•Ep. 79
The CBA Young Lawyers International Program, or YLIP, places upcoming young lawyers and law graduates from Canada at internships with overseas organizations working in the areas of law reform, human rights, and access to justice. The program has been funded by Global Affairs Canada as part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy. Julia speaks to Stephen Gerald Kent and Agizul Sumber from IDLO Mongolia, and Abdu Murabit, who has just finished a YLIP internship with them, about the...
Jan 19, 2023•56 min•Ep. 78
Julia welcomes recently retired Chief Justice of Ontario, George R. Strathy to discuss his motivation in publishing these two articles on mental health in the legal profession: The Litigator and Mental Health - Court of Appeal for Ontario (ontariocourts.ca) Reflections on Mental Health - Court of Appeal for Ontario (ontariocourts.ca) and get his first impressions of the recently published groundbreaking nationwide study by the University of Sherbrooke on the psychological health determinants of ...
Jan 05, 2023•42 min•Ep. 77
Julia welcomes Prof. Nathalie Cadieux from the University of Sherbrooke and Glen Hickerson from the CBA Well-being sub-committee to discuss the first ever nationwide comprehensive study of the psychological health determinants of the legal profession, sponsored by the Federation of Law Societies and the Canadian Bar Association. Today will also see the release of the report’s much anticipated recommendations, which we will go through at the end of this episode. Whatever the reason for your inter...
Dec 12, 2022•35 min•Ep. 76
The first in a series of deeper dives on mental health in the Every Lawyer. Julia welcomes the Honourable Justice Michele Hollins of the court of King's Bench Alberta to discuss the recently published National Study on the Psychological Health Determinants of Legal Professionals in Canada, Phase I, Research Report by Dr. Nathalie Cadieux from the University of Sherbrooke. Canadian Bar Association - The first comprehensive national study on wellness in the legal profession is published (cba.org) ...
Dec 01, 2022•38 min•Ep. 75
Canadian Bar Association - Business and Human Rights (cba.org) Lloyd Lipsett is an international human rights lawyer with over 20 years of experience working with leading companies, governments, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and indigenous peoples. He has developed a niche in the field of business and human rights, with a focus on implementing human rights due diligence processes (HRDD) and human rights impact assessments (HRIA) in challenging contexts. In parti...
Nov 17, 2022•42 min•Ep. 74
How to get 2000 twitter followers without using clickbait. Marketing consultant Sandra Bekhor and small firm founder and senior lawyer Garry Wise recently celebrated their 22nd anniversary. What's their secret? In this episode of the Every Lawyer, the Toronto power couple show that when it comes to marketing and social media for lawyers, as in all things including love, you have to give to receive. We thought about calling this episode "the early adopters get the clients" but embracing technolog...
Nov 03, 2022•44 min•Ep. 73
Actionable guidance on BHR. An introduction to the CBA's Business and Human Rights Guide with one of its principal authors, Josh Scheinert and investigative journalist, Eric Szeto, known for his work with W5 CTV and CBC Market Place. What lawyers need to know to avoid business complicity in human rights abuses. To quote Eric Szeto from this episode: "if you look closely enough you will find problems in every industry". Canadian Bar Association - Business and Human Rights (cba.org)...
Sep 29, 2022•34 min•Ep. 72
